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Comic Books
Eric: [in Wayne's body] God... Oh, God... W-We should go...
Lord Burnham: [in Kevin's body] Nonsense, Eric. We've only just begun. Now you've had a taster, what are you in the mood for? The possibilities are limitless. Now that I think of it, Wayne has a sister. Sweet seventeen and ripe as a peach. What do you say — shall we take turns?
Lord Burnham: [in Kevin's body] Nonsense, Eric. We've only just begun. Now you've had a taster, what are you in the mood for? The possibilities are limitless. Now that I think of it, Wayne has a sister. Sweet seventeen and ripe as a peach. What do you say — shall we take turns?
— Hellblazer: Joyride
Fan Works
Shigaraki: (Evil Laugh) Yes, Luz! Show them the real you. The one that you had buried for so long! You allowed them to control you for years, allowed them to tell you that you cannot be, or who you want to be! Let that anger boil to the top and flow over! Let it be one with you, let it become you. Unleash it! Unleash your true self upon those that took, and took, and took from you! You are above them all, and will forever be! They toyed with you, made you their plaything, and when they were done playing with you they discarded you and threw you into this camp and left you to rot! I’ve told you this before, so it bears not repeating, but you should not allow them to get away with this! This is all their fault! Let the anger you’ve let sit for years rise. Here, in this domain, you are free to do whatever you please! Do unto them what they did to you! Show them how they messed up! Show them what happens when you toy with God! Luz Noceda, do what you know you have to, and KILL THEM ALL!
— All For One encouraging Luz Noceda to Pay Evil unto Evil and avenge her recently murdered camper friends with The Power of Hate, All For Luz, Chapter 11.
Darth Nihilus: But they do not deserve peace, do they? [...] You gave everything to your Kingdom. To your King. And this is how they repay you? With a simple horse and carriage? Don't you believe you deserve more?
Alixandre: No. The war is over. I did my duty to my kingdom and that's enough!
Darth Nihilus: But you can have more. All you have to do is reach out and take it. Put on my mask, and you will be given the power you deserve! Power to do whatever you want. To protect your family, to destroy your enemies. Or to take the crown of King for yourself, and not let Vale cast you aside like an unneeded tool.
Alixandre: No. The war is over. I did my duty to my kingdom and that's enough!
Darth Nihilus: But you can have more. All you have to do is reach out and take it. Put on my mask, and you will be given the power you deserve! Power to do whatever you want. To protect your family, to destroy your enemies. Or to take the crown of King for yourself, and not let Vale cast you aside like an unneeded tool.
Films — Live-Action
"I took Gotham's white knight and I brought him down to our level. It wasn't hard. You see, madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little push!"
— The Joker, The Dark Knight
Two-Face: The Joker chose me!
Batman: Because you were the best of us! He wanted to prove that even someone as good as you could fall.
Batman: Because you were the best of us! He wanted to prove that even someone as good as you could fall.
"You were right about one thing, Kevin: I have been watching. Couldn't help myself. Watching, waiting, holding my breath... but I'm no puppeteer, Kevin. I don't make things happen; doesn't work like that. [...] Free will. It's like butterfly wings: once touched, they never get off the ground. No, I only set the stage. You pull your own strings."
"The real prize today is Ink. You have proved your loyalty. Those scars... they will be gone now. No more shame. Because pride is what we are made of. You will be our greatest asset."
— The Prince, Ink
Literature
Alexei Alexandrovich had never been so glad for the presence of his metal-thinking attachment, his secret beloved-companion — for it could bluntly address the things he could think but never express. Its mechanical eye showed him dark mysteries, and its voice demanded he acknowledge life's darker truths.
"I made a mistake in linking my life to hers, but there was nothing wrong in my mistake, and so I cannot be unhappy."
BUT SHE... SHE MUST BE MADE UNHAPPY.
"I made a mistake in linking my life to hers, but there was nothing wrong in my mistake, and so I cannot be unhappy."
BUT SHE... SHE MUST BE MADE UNHAPPY.
— Android Karenina
Baron Harkonnen: Your fear is so transparent, granddaughter. My sway of your senses cannot be else but temporary. There are others who could mimic you to a perfection that... but you know this. With me, ahhh, people would spy out my presence immediately. You know the Fremen Law for those possessed. You'd be slain out of hand. Yes, even you. And you know I do not want that to happen. I'll take care of Javid for you and, once it's done, I'll step aside. You need only...
Alia: How is this good advice?
Baron Harkonnen: It rids you of a dangerous tool. And, child, it sets up the working relationship between us...
Alia: How is this good advice?
Baron Harkonnen: It rids you of a dangerous tool. And, child, it sets up the working relationship between us...
Plant the seeds. Nurture them in darkness in fear. Watch them sprout in her psyche. Vague fantasies solidifying. From "I wish he was dead" to "How would I kill him, if I dared?" and then finally "Do I dare?"
Do I dare kill him?
And can I get away with it?
He helped with all of that, his firm mental support bolstering her confidence and his subtle mental manipulation knocking away obstacles.
Of course you can do this. You're strong and smart and resourceful.
You're better than him. You deserve better.
Do I dare kill him?
And can I get away with it?
He helped with all of that, his firm mental support bolstering her confidence and his subtle mental manipulation knocking away obstacles.
Of course you can do this. You're strong and smart and resourceful.
You're better than him. You deserve better.
— Hounded, by Kelley Armstrong
As for Captain Roberts — he might have wanted to save Cox's soul from the Fires of Perdition, but he hated the man himself and didn't mind showing it. This did not sit well with Cox, but shooting captains always caused a bit too much of a stir so, Cookie decided, he must have decided to beat the captain on the man's own ground, or water, destroying him from the inside.
Cox shot things because they were alive, but to him that was just killing time. He had greater ambitions for the captain. He wanted to shoot him in the faith.
Cox shot things because they were alive, but to him that was just killing time. He had greater ambitions for the captain. He wanted to shoot him in the faith.
— Nation
Boris Dragosani: You said I was your future. You said you were my past. That's a lie. I have no past. I'm just a boy.
Thibor Ferenczy: Oh? Ha, ha, ha! So you are, so you are. But in your thin blood runs the history of a race, Dragosani. I am in you and you are in me. And our line is... ancient! I know all you want to know, all you will want to know. Aye, and this knowledge shall be yours, and you shall be one of an elite and ancient order of beings...
"You run into her, and you can't even look straight at her without feeling your skin crawl. Like when someone's got something wrong with their eye and your own eye starts watering... only with her it's because of the bugs. And then she talks, and she sounds so idealistic, and naïve. I don't know how you sound idealistic and naïve with a swarm of cockroaches and bees crawling over your face, but she does. And so you let your guard down. And then she starts making sense."
— Flechette on Skitter, Worm
"...I got home and saw my family, and they said I was different, angrier. And they were right. Because I'm hearing about everything that's happening, all these secrets coming out, and I can't even look at my teammates without wondering if there's something nefarious about them. Because Parian was the one good thing I found in this city, and you recruited her. That costume, it's like a slap in the face. Like, it wasn't obvious enough you corrupted her. You had to take the playfulness away? The joy?"
— Flechette to Skitter, again, Worm note
Live-Action TV
James March: John, do you know the difference between you and I?
John Lowe: Millions?
James March: No. Pain. I've shed my load. You carry yours like a man carrying a sackful of rocks crossing a river. One false step and you go under. I submit you've received no justice for the pain you've suffered. You're constrained by the very laws you've sworn to uphold. It's not your fault, you see: it's what you've been taught.
John Lowe: ...got forty files on my desk. I'll be lucky to clear ten of them. Real criminals never pay.
James March: Come with me. You're ready for a new lesson...
John Lowe: Millions?
James March: No. Pain. I've shed my load. You carry yours like a man carrying a sackful of rocks crossing a river. One false step and you go under. I submit you've received no justice for the pain you've suffered. You're constrained by the very laws you've sworn to uphold. It's not your fault, you see: it's what you've been taught.
John Lowe: ...got forty files on my desk. I'll be lucky to clear ten of them. Real criminals never pay.
James March: Come with me. You're ready for a new lesson...
Music
This is not what I wanted
And now I'm haunted
Whenever I'm alone
I'm scared of what I'd do
Just look at what you turned me into!
And now I'm haunted
Whenever I'm alone
I'm scared of what I'd do
Just look at what you turned me into!
— Keke Palmer, "Animal"
Radio
Illeana de Santos: Hayashi... betrayed my trust!
Pieter Stubbe: She can't resist. None of them can; it's their nature — yours as well, Doctor, deep, deep down. So, join us!
The Doctor: I will not! Ileana, remember everything you told me: don't give in to the shadows!
Ileana de Santos: [struggling to regain control] Ines! Ines, where are you? Help me... Ines... no, don't join him! I trusted you! Jorge, where are you?
Pieter Stubbe: [Evil Laugh] Your servants are long gone! I bring out the night in everything — so just do it: unleash your heart's darkest desires!
Ileana de Santos: It's true... I want it... [begins to transform]
Pieter Stubbe: My love, I'd forgotten your coat was so glossy... And you, Doctor! Tear off that pious mask, and let's see the dark side of your nature!
Pieter Stubbe: She can't resist. None of them can; it's their nature — yours as well, Doctor, deep, deep down. So, join us!
The Doctor: I will not! Ileana, remember everything you told me: don't give in to the shadows!
Ileana de Santos: [struggling to regain control] Ines! Ines, where are you? Help me... Ines... no, don't join him! I trusted you! Jorge, where are you?
Pieter Stubbe: [Evil Laugh] Your servants are long gone! I bring out the night in everything — so just do it: unleash your heart's darkest desires!
Ileana de Santos: It's true... I want it... [begins to transform]
Pieter Stubbe: My love, I'd forgotten your coat was so glossy... And you, Doctor! Tear off that pious mask, and let's see the dark side of your nature!
Tabletop Games
What the Nephandi do, however, is not limited to anything so crude as the stereotypical Faustian Bargain. A Nephandus doesn't simply arrive in someone's life, offer to purchase their soul, and then complete the transaction like a banker signing off on a mortgage. Instead, what the Nephandi engage in is a widespread campaign of corruption, degradation and seduction. They seek to destroy the best and exalt the worst, and by doing so, convince the masses that there's nothing to stop them from listening to their own worst instincts. There's no market for souls in jars, in any case. The Nephandi aren't after collections of souls to torment or possess: they simply want to drag others down, and that in and of itself is, for many of them, enough.
— Mage: The Ascension — The Book of Madness
Not every Infernalist is a tempter: these folk are a special breed, and they challenge themselves (and each other) to games of epic corruption that not just anyone can play. After all, the satanic rondeau of lure, capture and betrayal requires a certain amount of grace and wit. Any idiot can eat babies. Turning a King into a coprophiliac, on the other hand, takes vision.
— Mage: The Sorcerer's Crusade — Infernalism
Think of it this way. It's like we've walked along a beach together and when you look back, you see two sets of footprints in some places, but only one set at others — when you were at your worst. You ask "did you carry me through that and make me do those awful things?" No, you miserable fucking coward. You carried me. You couldn't take another step without bringing me along, so you could say "The Devil made me do it." All I did was talk.
It's okay. I forgive you.
I'll always forgive you.
It's okay. I forgive you.
I'll always forgive you.
— New World of Darkness: Inferno
These are our strengths: corruption, degradation and fear. Through corruption we gain power, bringing the good closer to us and the weak under our control. Degradation is a tool to destroy the proud and strengthen the impure; by degrading the pure soul we honor Set, by reveling in degradation we increase our understanding of decay. Fear is our potent weapon. Through fear of death, we spur mortals on to further excess; through fear of undying, we torment the Kindred with that which is denied them.
— Vampire: The Masquerade — Clanbook: Followers of Set
"Come, take my hand! There is no wish of yours I cannot grant, no desire I cannot fulfil. Forget your gods, your family, your loved ones. What can they offer you? I can give you more than you have ever dreamed of; I have such things to show you, such pleasures for you to taste! There is no love greater than mine. Come now, join me! It is such an easy step, such a short climb! Yes, that's it. Come to me, my champion, stay forever..."
— Azazel, Prince of Damnation, Warhammer: Champions of Chaos Army Book (5th edition)
The Wyrm is a corrupter: it (or to be more precise, its spirit host) preys upon the seeds of impurity in all souls and turns them towards its own malicious ends. It doesn't tell potential pawns to commit acts of evil, it guides them towards making their own decisions. Anyone can have a legion of mindless drones, but the Wyrm would rather have loyal followers — they're better producers.
— Werewolf: The Apocalypse — Book of the Wyrm (2nd edition)
Video Games
"I told [the Illusive Man] that if his intention was to work with the devil, he had only to look in the mirror."
— Gavin Archer, Mass Effect 3
"Have another roast pig, Melvin... have two... you're a Hero now.
Have a rest, Oberon... heroes need their rest.
I think she likes you, Sir William... if you want to slip away with her, I won't tell anyone.
Goldo, you can have all the gold you've ever wanted, my friend! No one would refuse a hero.
That Jewel had everything... it turned out what she wanted was what other people had.
Hard to see what you love taken away, isn't it, Khan? When reason is gone, nothing is left but madness!"
Have a rest, Oberon... heroes need their rest.
I think she likes you, Sir William... if you want to slip away with her, I won't tell anyone.
Goldo, you can have all the gold you've ever wanted, my friend! No one would refuse a hero.
That Jewel had everything... it turned out what she wanted was what other people had.
Hard to see what you love taken away, isn't it, Khan? When reason is gone, nothing is left but madness!"
— The Wizard/First Overlord recounting how he corrupted the Heroes, Overlord
"It's all programming. All about being a good drone in the hive. And the buzzing voice is just a cosmic PSA. Dizzying words. They talk in riddles, and riddles are just a misdirection, another sort of wall. Tanaka keeps spinning words, terrified of what would happen without the wall. Not me, Chuck. I'll talk straight with you; you'll know this, because I'll tell you things you don't want to hear. Things you might tear your eyes and ears out not to know. You'll be wiser without those, Chuck. Imagine the relief in pressure. Imagine the insight of empty sockets.
Tear down this wall.
See you, Chuck..."
Tear down this wall.
See you, Chuck..."
— The Black Signal, The Secret World
Web Original
"He's the serpent who turns people into evil versions of themselves. Read Othello and it really slaps you in the face; this is what Delgado's Master could and should have been, and what he is — albeit on a political rather than human scale — in "The Mind of Evil" and "Frontier in Space". He doesn't perform the actions himself, rather he works on people until they do it for him; he's the devil on the shoulder, the tempter. Ingrid Pitt's Queen-character (sorry, can't remember her name) appears likeable enough at first, if arrogant. But it's the Master who brings her thirst for power to the fore, who poisons her love for that King guy (his name escapes me too), who makes her become the villain in the piece."
— Mike Morris on the Master
in Doctor Who
in Doctor Who Western Animation
"I need you, Zuko. I've plotted every move of this day, this glorious day in Fire Nation history, and the only way we win is together. At the end of this day, you will have your honor back. You will have Father's love. You will have everything you want."
Shadowy Figure: What matters is that I see you.
K.O.: Huh?
Shadowy Figure: More importantly, I see something in you that no one else sees.
K.O.: What's that?
Shadowy Figure: The great power that already courses through your veins.
K.O.: It... does?
Shadowy Figure: Locked up tight within you is more strength than all your little friends combined. Would you like me to show you how to unleash it?
K.O.: You'd do that for me?
Shadowy Figure: Of course. Just think of me as a friend showing you a secret shortcut.
K.O.: Huh?
Shadowy Figure: More importantly, I see something in you that no one else sees.
K.O.: What's that?
Shadowy Figure: The great power that already courses through your veins.
K.O.: It... does?
Shadowy Figure: Locked up tight within you is more strength than all your little friends combined. Would you like me to show you how to unleash it?
K.O.: You'd do that for me?
Shadowy Figure: Of course. Just think of me as a friend showing you a secret shortcut.
Heidi: You piece of shit! This is all your fault! You controlled me and manipulated me and turned me into this!
Cartman: Baby, put down the gun, sweetheart...
Heidi: I used to be kind, I used to be caring, but then you! YOU!
Cartman: Baby, put down the gun, sweetheart...
Heidi: I used to be kind, I used to be caring, but then you! YOU!
